Lose Yourself
by Sanguin19
Summary: After the devastating loss of her mother 14 year old Saiyan warrior Rika travels to Earth with her father in hopes of finding a Saiyan of whom they had lost contact with almost 24 years ago when their home planet was destroyed – when the reunion turns deadly it leaves the young warrior questioning her loyalties…but who will she side with? Her violent father or her long-lost uncle?
1. Prologue

**Dragon Ball Z**

 **Lose yourself**

 **Summary: After the devastating loss of her mother 14 year old Saiyan warrior Rika travels to Earth with her father in hopes of finding a Saiyan of whom they had lost contact with almost 24 years ago when their home planet was destroyed – when the reunion turns deadly it leaves the young warrior questioning her loyalties…but who will she side with? Her violent father or her long-lost uncle?**

 **Rated T for violence, coarse language and injury detail.**

 **Prologue**

 ** _4 hours ago…_**

 _"_ _Keep your guard up, next time"_

 _Sallah told her daughter as she patched up the teen's bicep up of the rather deep gash that had dribbled blood down most of her arm as she had failed to take heed of an enemy soldier who flanked her until it was too late though only escaping with the deep cut rather than her life being cut short unlike his when her mother took him out with a full power Ki blast she had personally created called 'Atomic Blaster' which had completely obliterated the enemy soldier thus saving the teen Saiyan's life for sure._

 _"_ _I should have seen him…" her daughter replied with a sigh as she winced slightly at the gentle treatment of her wound that still felt as sore as it could be "…had I not hesitated on killing that other fighter…" she added knowing she could at least be honest by her mother who seemed to understand the trials the young warrior faced each and every battle, she looked up at the elder Saiyan who had short black spiky hair and bold onyx eyes that seemed to soften a little upon hearing her daughter's somewhat harsh judgment of herself "…why can I not be like you and father?" she asked after a moment of thinking._

 _"_ _You hesitate because you want to believe there is another way around the situation without bloodshed…" Sallah stated as she finished tying the dressing around her daughter's arm before moving to sit beside her on the large slab of what used to be a building in the smouldering wreck of a city "…the others would call you 'weak' and 'foolish' for thinking such a thing…" she sighed a little catching sight of the teen giving her a displeased look._

 _"_ _I am not weak…" she stated bluntly almost forgetting that she was talking to her mother "…what do you think?" she asked after a moment wondering if she thought the same as the others._

 _"_ _I don't think you're weak…" the elite Saiyan told her shaking her head "…if anything you're stronger than the others…stronger than me too…" she added looking at the young Saiyan's expression change from displeased to a little taken aback "Your father and I have been doing this far too long, as have Vegeta and Nappa…" she told her daughter "…you're young and have so much of your life ahead of you – " she added but soon both of their scouters crackled to life with sudden activity as a gruff voice spoke to the pair of them through the earpieces._

 _"_ _Sallah, Rika – report back to the pods immediately"_

 _"_ _What's up, Vegeta?" Sallah was the first to answer her tone seemed curious with a slight hint of concern as she addressed her younger brother._

 _"_ _We have company – it seems the maggots of this planet have a few tricks up their sleeves" he told her via the device "Just get here as soon as possible and be ready to fight"_

 _"_ _Sure thing, little brother" she replied before looking to Rika who sat beside her on the rock "Let's not keep them waiting…" she sighed some with a small smile – most saiyans were known to almost everyone as barbaric monsters who only wanted to fight and kill indiscriminately but Princess Sallah was one of the few who seemed to have a good heart under a somewhat jagged and battle-worn exterior – maybe that was the reason her father seemed to pay her less attention and always favoured his first-born son instead who was five years younger than Sallah who seemed to have to fight for attention from her father – she knew almost exactly how Rika felt despite her daughter being an only child._

 _Soon enough the mother and daughter duo took to the skies for a short flight back to the space pods where the three male members of their team were changing their slightly battle-damaged armour suits for fresh ones under the seats of their pods – along the way it was clear to tell that the fighting had gone on for days rather than mere hours unlike their last assignment, some cities were still aflame though almost out while others were just smouldering and charred beyond belief by the sheer force of five Saiyan warriors._

 _As they landed they were greeted by the sight of a large bald man dressed in the typical dark blue armour with gold trim and shoulder guards who seemed to be the first to notice them as they walked towards the pods, a smirk spread across his lips as his moustache seemed to tilt a little with the amused look he flashed their way._

 _"_ _Ass" Sallah muttered to herself as he passed by most likely off to find food or scout the area, it was clear to most that she didn't think much of the taller Saiyan even after having stayed in the same group as him for almost 24 years._

 _"_ _Mother…" Rika whispered nervously not wanting to see yet another argument between the two of them again as the last was violent enough though it had been interrupted by an attack from the planet's inhabitants "…calm yourself, I don't like him either…" she added once he had passed before they walked closer to where the two other Saiyans had been standing talking battle tactics for what they would be up against soon if the transmission was anything to go by, one was a short, spikey-haired male with a blue battle suit on that fully covered his arms and legs of which was under a white and gold armoured vest with white gloves and boots in the same colours as the vest of which had the royal family's seal on it's left chest plate rather similar to that of her mother's except for the colour difference in the armour with hers being red and white much like that of the late king of the Saiyan race._

 _The other Saiyan was also a male taller than the other with a large jet black spikey mane that ran down to his lower back, his face seemed slightly thinner and a tad harsher than that of the other Saiyan with the royal crested armour but he seemed to smile a little at the two females heading their way, he was dressed in a different variation of the battle armour worn by his comrades as his was black and a copper-ish brown with black under-shorts as his tail wrapped around his waist like all the others, he waited for them to get over to where he and the prince stood looking at the electronic map that currently lay on a rock bleeping with activity of the enemies that seemed to be a couple of hours out from landing rather near to their current position._

 _"_ _Glad you two decided to join us…" the prince huffed a little as he looked mainly at his elder sister "…what took you so long?"_

 _"_ _We ran into some resistance…" Sallah stated with a raised eyebrow at his remark "…they landed a lucky shot on Rika but she's patched up" she added though this seemed to catch the taller Saiyan's attention as he looked at Rika's arm._

 _"_ _Are you alright?" he asked her with a tad concern in his voice as any parent would be for their child._

 _"_ _I am now…thanks, dad" Rika nodded to her father looking up at the large warrior "Mom got him" she informed him "…before you say it, I know I should have been more careful…" she sighed afterwards as she knew her father wasn't as easy going on her as her mother was but in the life of a Saiyan careful isn't always a luxury they could afford._

 _"_ _We all make mistakes…" Raditz admitted which actually caught the young Saiyan off guard a little "…just watch out next time, alright?" he added as he rested a hand on her shoulder giving it a reassuring squeeze, though at times it didn't seem like it he did care a lot about his daughter – he just wanted to toughen her up a little as she seemed somewhat soft-hearted which is yet another luxury they could not afford as that bred hesitation to do what is necessary and in turn could be the difference between life and death._

 _"_ _Yes, sir" she smiled feeling a little more at ease around him now as she'd expected him to bellow at her like he had the day before._

 _After a few moments the tall, bald Saiyan returned from his stroll as they gathered around the map that seemed to show a cluster red dots heading towards the planet and getting much closer as each moment passes, it seemed to count that the approaching enemy was about 15 strong compared to the 5 Saiyan warriors who waited to greet them in a violent fashion._

 _"_ _Why so few?" Rika spoke up first after counting the blips._

 _"_ _They must be this planet's elite warriors or somethin'…" the bald Saiyan spoke up, his name was Nappa the former bodyguard of Vegeta and Sallah back when they were children – though now the middle-aged Saiyan was now more a member of the team rather than a bodyguard, he was stronger than both Raditz and Rika though he was barely even half of what Sallah could bring to the battlefield with her level of over 14,000 in strength thanks to her royal and elite blood – supposedly – though out of all of them Vegeta was the strongest as he still had over 19,000 built up via the years of intense training in his youth._

 _"_ _Possibly" Sallah nodded as she took a closer inspection of the map "Hmm…if you look they seem to be flying in some kind of battle formation…" she pointed to the almost perfect 'V' like structure with what could possibly be the leader at the tip of the point._

 _"_ _Might be the challenge we're waiting for…" Raditz smirked earning a smirk from both Nappa and Sallah though Vegeta remained quiet as his team talked amongst themselves while Rika seemed to just look at the map as the blips became almost perfectly circular in shape as though they were battle pods while remaining in the V-formation._

 _"_ _Exactly…" Sallah smirked "...they don't stand a hope in hell's chance against us" this remark seemed a little over-confident for Vegeta's liking as he shot her a look._

 _"_ _Don't be so rash in judgment, Sallah…" he told her in a calm tone "…we cannot afford another incident like on Planet Miakos, can we?" he added this seemed to draw a small glare from the female elite Saiyan._

 _"_ _It won't be…" she replied in a short tone "…besides…we're all older now and more experienced"_

 _"_ _What happened?" Rika asked as she looked between the two a little puzzled by their conversation._

 _"_ _Bad decisions cost a few lives…" Raditz told the curious teen "…it happened a couple of years before you were born" he added like it was nothing for her to be worried about._

 _"_ _It was more than just 'a few' lives…" Nappa muttered._

 _"_ _Shut it, Nappa" Sallah seemed to growl at him in an instant – the look on her face showed more contempt and anger than Rika had ever seen in her life even from a person as mellow as her mother._

 _"_ _What the hell are you gonna do if I don't?" Nappa replied glaring back at her "Think you can take me?" he added with a smirk looking at the fiery look on the woman's face "Bring it on, Princess…" Rika reached out a hand to touch her mother's wrist hoping she'd not do anything stupid in front of her own daughter but soon a voice bellowed catching both of their attention towards the owner of it._

 _"_ _Enough!" Vegeta snapped at the quarrelling Saiyans as he looked between them "Save the animosity to fight them…NOT each other" he told them all but this was mostly aimed at his sister and their former guard who seemed to be trading glares between one another before Sallah seemed to snort with amusement showing a side that she seemed to share with her younger brother – a side of egotistical big-headedness that rarely surfaced until that moment._

 _"_ _Heh…I got plenty to go around" she spoke up mainly aiming such a comment at her current rival…_

 _If only she knew…_

 **~ Now ~**

Rain poured down upon the battlefield as smoke billowed out of rubble piles that used to be the semi-destroyed buildings of mere hours ago, fresh bodies lay all-around of the invaders whilst one of which was different…

There she lay her face dirtied by both blood and grime from the battles before though there was also a certain paleness to her complexion that only seemed to grace those in the grasp of death itself, her armour cracked around a hole that seemed to run all the way through her middle as her dark onyx eyes seemed to stare absentmindedly as though looking up into the purple skies above where she lay as a grief filled teen pulled at her trying to wake her from this state…it was too late, she was gone.

"M-Mom…? Wake up!" she sobbed her hands gripping at the damaged armour vest while tears spilled down her blue-blood smeared cheeks mixing with the rain as it fell upon them "Don't leave me…please…I-I need you…" she uttered as angry sobs seemed to break up her words – her own body was wracked with pain and her hands showed signs of burns but none of this seemed to bother her as much as the sight of Sallah's broken body lying in a puddle that was dyed crimson with her own blood "WAKE UP!" the teen wasn't giving up as her father stood looking stunned by the sight of what had happened.

"Rika…she's gone…" Vegeta uttered his voice even showed rare signs of emotion as he looked saddened at the sight of his distressed niece trying to revive her mother "…we need to go…" he told her though she seemed to blank him completely "Rika?" he called a moment later but there was still no reply as she stopped shaking her mother and began crying even more – seeing he was getting nowhere with her, he looked to Raditz "Can you try and get through to her?" he asked his comrade who stood a few feet from him.

"Why should I?" he replied his tone void of emotion which earned him a look from the prince.

"The girl has just lost her mother…" Nappa stepped in looking at Raditz "…she needs her father"

"It's her fault…" he muttered "…she's no daughter of mine" a hint of bitterness seemed to seep into his tone before he walked away leaving just Nappa and Vegeta looking at the teen who still cry over her mother's body.

"We need to get her away from the body…" Vegeta sighed looking up at his taller comrade.

"She's not going to leave willingly…" Nappa replied as he crossed his arms "…it's a damn shame about Sallah…" he added with a sigh "We had our differences but I never for a second thought she'd be taken down so soon…" he admitted.

Vegeta nodded before he looked over at his niece "I guess I have no choice…" he muttered as he walked over to the teen and knelt beside her taking a moment to close his sister's eyes so she looked more peaceful as though she was sleeping – well if you didn't take any notice of the huge hole in her gut and the dribble of blood that had cascaded from the corner of her lips down her pale cheek "…I'm sorry…" he uttered quietly to the teen as he moved a hand round to the back of her neck with the palm facing upwards just as she turned her head to look at him.

"Why did sh-..." was all the teen could manage before she felt a solid *whack* to the back of her neck which seemed to shock her system jerking her forward as she lost consciousness in a matter of a couple of seconds falling flat on her front over the body's chest – the world around her seemed to be swallowed by the darkness as the last words she heard belonged to her uncle…

"Forgive me…"

After that the darkness welcomed her with suffocating warmth and soon her worries were no more for the time being…

 **A/N: So here is the opening chapter of my story – sorry it opened on a bit of a dark note and some of it may not really make sense but things will be explained as the story progresses and hopefully Rika grows with it.**

 **Remember reviews give Goku strength for his Spirit Bomb! :-P**

 **Thanks**

 **S19**


	2. Chapter One: Earthbound

**A/N: Thank you to all those who spared some time to read my previous chapter – I hope this next chapter won't let you guys down as I had been having a little trouble with the internet recently so I may have to change my provider…anyhow…on with the story lol ^_^**

 **Chapter One**

 **Earthbound**

 _"_ _It's okay…"_

 _The words that seemed to be repeated endlessly in the passing seconds as she looked up at her daughter kneeling next to her pale faced and wide eyed, every inch of her body felt like it was ablaze with agony but none of that mattered the only thing she worried about was the stability of the teen staring at her tears welling in those bold onyx eyes that resembled her own so much._

 _"_ _Mom….I-I…" was all the young Saiyan could stammer out before her mother reached up a bloodied hand caressing the teen's cheek a little trying to sooth her though leaving smudges of crimson blood in contrast with the blue smears and speckles of the enemy blood that covered them both "I'm sorry…" she sobbed as her head fell upon Sallah's shoulder drawing a pained whimper from the wounded warrior that was barely even audible even in their close proximity._

 _"_ _Hush my child…what's done is done…" she told her in a soft tone though with every breath she could feel the blood in her throat bubble towards her lungs "…you did what you had to…and I would expect no less…I'm proud…of you…" she managed to get out before a cough hacked up an ooze of dark red fluid from her lips, this was mostly caused by the four inch hole through her middle from a concentrated energy beam that had passed through a foe before it even reached her to do this amount of damage._

 _"_ _Don't…don't be proud of me…" Rika uttered through a sob looking at her with a mixture of self-anger and distress of the situation "…there is nothing to be proud of…not of me" her teeth were gritted as she tried to stop her tears running down her cheeks, it was her fault that her mother was laying there bleeding out in the rain as it pattered down on the battlefield making their usually spikey hair seem a little flatter than usual, the salt in her tears stung the open cut on her left cheek but this was nothing compared to the pain that she felt inside of herself knowing that she had done this._

 _"_ _Stop that talk…right now…" even though she was dying her mother still had enough to reprimand the teen as she looked at her with those dark eyes showing the last remnants of life "…I know you don't feel pride in your actions…hell…I know even I'd find it hard in your position but as a Saiyan you must find that pride from somewhere…" she told her taking her daughter's hands in to her own as she coughed some more speckles of blood cast into the air only to fall upon her paling skin "…This may not seem much right now…" she told her as her mind seemed to cast back to their discussion just hours ago "…remember I told you that you're not weak…do you…do you remember?" she asked her as breathing became a difficulty and a shot of pain travelled through her core forcing the elder Saiyan to grit her teeth some._

 _"_ _I remember…" the teen replied quietly as she tried to comfort her mother as best she could "…you said that I'm stronger than they think I am…" she told her as she felt the inevitable tears falling from her chin to mingle with the rain falling upon her mother's skin "…but what if you are mistaken…what if I am just the failure they think I am?" she asked with so many negative thoughts swirling her mind._

 _"_ _A m-mother's instinct is n-never wrong…" a small smile crept onto her mother's normally kind features as she looked upwards at the skies above them "…she will give her last breath for her children if she has to, there is no power stronger than that of the need to protect your family…" she uttered as her voice trembled and a small teardrop ran from the corner of her eye "…promise me, Rika…promise me that you will find a reason to stand and fight…don't let the Planet Trade Organization run your life…break free…like I never did…" the sentence came to an end with a raspy breath inwards followed by a smooth exhale a couple of short seconds later…_

 _Rika looked up from the blood-stained hand in her own with a cold feeling creeping its way up her spine as she looked to see the expression of her mother just staring up at the skies above, she didn't know what to say at first as she gently shook her mother hoping she was just resting for a moment but no matter how she shook her she remained the same._

 _"_ _Mom…?" she called tearfully as her throat felt like it had closed on her choking on her tears "Mom? Mom, wake up….don't do this…" she pleaded shaking her again as the rain poured down upon them as thunder rumbled._

 **MOM!**

She lurched forward in her seat with her arm stretched out grasping for someone that just wasn't there any more, she took a second to calm down as her eyes scouted her surroundings and she soon enough realized that she was no longer on the bloodied battlefield of Tritek but much rather in the comfortable safety of a space pod – but this was not her pod, it smelled a lot like a comfort that was now missing from her life.

It smelt like her mother – a mixture of the homely scent mixed with those summer flowers from the planet formerly known as Solaris that they had been to just over three years ago, this seemed to calm her a little.

It had been almost 9 months since Tritek already and every nightmare makes it feel like yesterday – still hurts like yesterday too.

Rika sighed some and rubbed her face as she sat back in the seat and looked out at the stars as the pod flew at high speeds across the solar system, though this time something was different than it had been last time she had sat looking out the window on the door – that small blue planet that had been so far away to begin with was now a gigantic orb that took up most of the view, it seemed they would be there soon…what was the planet's name again? E-arth? Or was it Earth? Who cares…it was probably going to be cleared and on the market before the day was over with, that's just the way things happen in her life recently.

With a tired yawn she stretched some and pressed a button on the side of her seat.

"Computer, how long until we reach our destination?" she asked clearly so the voice recognition could pick her voice up, it only took a matter of seconds to get a reply from the robotic voice of the pod's auto-pilot system.

 _'_ _T-minus 2 hours until target destination…'_ came the reply from the device, this seemed to make the young Saiyan sigh a little.

The thought of what may happen on this planet seemed to make her feel slightly uneasy especially since in the past months she had been replaying the same moment over and over in her mind, the fight that cost her the one person who actually believed in her when others doubted her and called her weak because she hated killing those who had never wronged her and so she questioned her orders – she considered using her scouter to talk to –him- though she knew that he'd have nothing to say to her even if she tried to talk to him.

He hated her, her own father blamed her for Sallah's death.

Maybe he was right to – maybe he was just over-reacting…maybe.

She rested her head against her seat and looked up at the roof of the pod, a small picture was stuck to door of the panel above her head – on the polaroid sized picture was what most would call a lovely family photo of a younger Rika sat on a log with her mother sat beside her with her arm around her shoulders as her father Raditz hugged them both with a huge cheesy smile despite a few speckles of blood on his cheek – it looked a nice photo that had been taken six years ago, it was hard to believe that the three of them were once a happy family.

With a sigh she tore her eyes from the picture and just looked out of the small window a couple of feet from where she sat as the stars flew past at the speed of light, a thought crossed her mind as she rubbed her tired eyes once again of what she was doing heading to earth with no clue as to why she would have been going there other than the grisly business of killing its inhabitants and selling it to the highest bidder if the resources were good.

Since there was time to kill she sat back in the seat and rested for the moment but when that wasn't doing anything she eventually gathered up the nerve to press a button on the side of her scouter and communicate with the person who she'd refrained from speaking to for over nine months "Father…?" she called almost timidly like a child, scared of what sort of a reply she'd get back from him as the minutes passed before a voice broke the silence.

"What is it?"

His tone sounded slightly different to how she expected it to, though more often she expected him not to talk to her at after the way he looked at her back on Planet Tritek but deep down part of her seemed to think she deserved it somehow as she took a moment to think of what she was going to say.

"I was just wondering…what this mission will entail?" she went to say something else but her mind wanted to stay away from any form of talking about what happened for as long as she can, if she said anything to upset him she had no idea how he'd react.

"It's not a mission…" his gruff voice filled her left ear again it seemed almost impassive as though she was talking to a living machine while he continued "...we're going to see someone and hopefully bring them back into the fold" he told her leaving out the specifics as though he was talking to a stranger.

"Who is it?"

"Enough with the questions" he seemed to tell her in a blunt tone, no big shock there.

"But…" she went to say but was cut off by his again blunt tone.

"Enough" he repeated almost in a slightly louder volume as though he was talking over her "I don't want to talk right now, alright?"

A sigh departed her lips as she just left it at that knowing it would not benefit her to keep talking if he was going to be like this for the next two hours, she released the button just sat there in the pod that wasn't even hers but rather that of her late mother, everything in it reminded her of the princess so much she could feel the emotional lump rising in her throat as she looked around, when the tears made their appearance in her dark eyes she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand and sniffled before clearing her throat.

She glanced up at the picture of her and her parents again and almost felt as though they were looking right at her as she sit there almost crying, she kept remembering bits and bobs they had told her growing up – but one bit alone stuck in her mind.

"Warriors don't cry…" she muttered the phrase her father had told her through her life "…pain makes them stronger" it was a phrase that Sallah had repeatedly told him is only half true but right now it was the only think keeping the young Saiyan from bawling her eyes out at the horrific memories that came with the thought of her mother – those last moments would change her life beyond belief "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough…" she uttered "…but I promise I will find a way out of the Organisation, somehow…" she glanced out the window at the blue planet as her fists balled on the armrest…

"I won't let them rule me"

Her voice was scarily sincere as though the anger she felt over her mother's death was beginning to bubble to the surface slowly but surely.

She was done being a lap dog.

 **A/N: Sorry this has taken so long to write I recently got busier at work so writing has been a bit of a trial -but- I am trying to get back into it and I know this might be a little rubbish but what can you do with two characters and a confined space with hardly anything to do? Anyhow I will be making it better soon and I hope that makes amends for the errors in this chapter - as usual Follow, Fave and/or Review they are always welcome and I will bring the next chapter to you lovely people soon :D**

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xS19x**


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